KATHMANDU, Nov 7: While agricultural products are being imported from abroad, the government has prepared to invest around Rs 10 billion at the local and provincial levels to increase agricultural production. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development is going to provide nine billion rupees under financial transfer in the first phase for self-sufficiency in agriculture.

Prakash Kumar Sanjel, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that funds are going to be sent for subsidies to farmers to be spent by the local level for the construction of market infrastructure. "The procedure has been approved by the Ministry of Finance," Sanjel said, "We will send the funds by the last week of November."

Govinda Prasad Sharma, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, said that funds are going to be sent under the self-sufficient agriculture program to increase the production of food grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat. "The plan is to increase the production of agricultural products and become self-sufficient by substituting imports," Sharma said, "We will provide subsidies from production to market building."

The ministry has given priority in the budget for paddy, potatoes, vegetables, fish, meat, milk, irrigation and construction of agricultural markets. The local governments have submitted program proposals to the ministry. The ministry is ready to send up to Rs 10 million for vegetables, Rs 750,000 for potatoes and Rs 620,000 for meat.

Those who expand one hectare of paddy area will get a subsidy of Rs 1800. The program to increase seed production is also a priority. The budget will also be spent on running agricultural ambulances at the local level and implementing the minimum support price. Spokesperson Sanjel said that the local governments can create mechanisms and make procedures to provide grants to the farmers.

"Farmers get subsidies according to the nature of the crops and work," he said, "Subsidies will be provided as an incentive to farmers to increase production." According to the ministry, there is a plan to provide an additional one billion rupees to the local governments that do excellent work. Three local governments each of the seven provinces that do the best work will get additional funds at the rate of five million rupees.

According to the ministry, the government has attached high priority to agriculture to replace imports by increasing domestic production at a time when agricultural and animal products worth hundreds of billions of rupees are being imported from abroad. The government has allocated a budget of Rs 55.97 billion for the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in the current year.

 
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